Rochelle's Wendy Horn hiking the Appalachian Trail

Wendy Horn has zip lined through the misty rain forests of Honduras; she’s rock climbed at world-renowned Acadia National Park in Maine; she’s kayaked through the icy rivers of Alaska; and she’s snorkeled with the sting rays in the clear waters off the Grand Cayman Islands.

She did all that because she wanted to.

But as for walking the entire length of the Appalachian Trail? That is one thing she just feels she has to do.

“It’s kind of a weird one to explain. People always ask why, and that’s a good question,” said Horn, a Rochelle resident who has knocked out less than 300 miles of the roughly 2,180 miles of the famous path through the Eastern coastline over the past three years. “Is it fun? Well, not most of it. Is it easy? Heck no. Is it a gentle walk through the forest? No way. But it’s pushing the extreme. It’s being one with nature. It takes your mind to a different place and it’s just something I had to do. I had to.”

So Horn headed east, and she’s done it for three separate trips to the trails so far, and she intends to keep doing so until she’s completed the entire length of the path. It runs from Georgia to Maine and stretches across 14 states. And while she says it will take her to the age of 77 to complete at her current pace, she intends to pick it up soon.

“Some of it is harder than other parts, but I decided to start off in the middle, and get most of the roughest terrain out of the way before I get too old,” the 52-year-old said with a smile. “But I will finish. I can’t say why, and I don’t know when, but I will finish.”

Together with her friend Diane McNeilly, Horn has already cut through about one-tenth of the Appalachian Trail in the past three years. Her last trip, just over a month ago at the end of April and into the beginning of May, was her longest yet. But her two-week goal was still cut short by three days because of a badly blistered foot.

“There’s always something out there that can slow you down, but that’s a lot of the draw. It’s a challenge,” Horn said. “And, it’s the Appalachian Mountains and the Appalachian Trail. There’s so much history along that path, and so many beautiful sites that you can’t help but see.”

Page 2 of 2 - The Appalachian Trail, born from an idea from hiker Benton MacKaye, was started in 1925 and finished in 1937, and it provided hikers and travelers alike with a scenic, but also efficient, slice up the coast. Horn has maneuvered her way through a large portion of the Pennsylvania trail, and she has encountered plenty of rocky cliffs, boulder fields and natural bridges and caves.

Horn insists that the people that take on the grueling but gratifying hike — classified into two categories: Through hikers and Section hikers, depending upon whether they are going to cut through the entire trail all at once or do it in sections, like Horn — are what make the adventure even better.

While hikers often join forces with strangers for large portions of the journey, there are also people who live around the trail who constantly provide a helping hand (known as Trail Angels) as well as trail groups and organizations that keep things running smoothly throughout the year.

Shelters are erected about every 8-12 miles for hikers to bed down, and posted signs as well as danger markings pop up all along the path to keep everyone in line.

Of course, not all of nature’s dangers can be avoided. Horn has been lucky so far.

“It’s such an adventure, every step. Everywhere you turn there’s something else to focus on and to worry about,” Horn said. “It’s grueling.”

Until she completes her journey, she’ll keep going back. She is already working on her next Eastbound plans. And in between her Appalachian Trail hikes, she’ll continue to find other action-packed ways to keep busy.

“I’m going hiking and canyoneering through the five national parks in Utah this week, so I always keep busy,” Horn said. “But the one thing about the Appalachian Trail is, it keeps calling me back.”